has been spying on foreign leaders, most notably angela merkel. john and christine? >> our thanks to jim for following that reporting. magical daylight surrounding the white house at all hours. >>> meanwhile, the ukrainian government launching a large-scale military operation to recapture slovyansk as the violence in ukraine escalates and threatens to erupt. many arrested already in some places. let's get the latest from arwa damon, live from donetsk, where ukrainian riot police have been clashing with pro-russian activists. >> reporter: yeah, the situation most certainly is not looking very well for the government in central ukraine and kiev. in slovyansk, according to the ministry of defense, two helicopters have been shot down, two military officers dead as that operation does continue. the ukrainian government reportedly capable or already having taken back a number of the barricades that the pro-russian capitalp has set up outside of slovyansk. here in donetsk, another building falling when clashes erupted between pro-russian militants and riot police, but the r